04/19/24
July 04, 2003
Golfer Danielle Ammaccapane, who once criticized the top female golfers for being too boring, is doing her part to change that: She allegedly bumped Michelle Wie and berated her for offending golf's persnickety etiquette gods during Friday's U.S. Women's Open.
I think you've got it exactly backwards. The fact that there's a rule against people "walking in your putting line" shows who the real babies are in this situation. Pro golfers have to be the most delicate flowers on the face of the Earth.
posted by rcade at 07:39 AM on July 05, 2003
I disagree entirely, etiquette is an important part of the game, if you can't follow it you shouldn't be playing. Or maybe I'm just still bitter about this.
posted by squealy at 10:16 AM on July 05, 2003
I am aware there's a difference in the degree of the two events though. Maybe I'm misreading this. Did she just walk in her line of sight or actually across her putting line? The article doesn't really make it as clear as it might.
posted by squealy at 11:12 AM on July 05, 2003
I can understand why most golf fans would disagree with me, but there's important etiquette -- play your own ball -- and pedantic etiquette that creates the perception professional golfers must be coddled to succeed. She walked into my putting line! Waahh! I can't make the putt now! I would've won the tournament if it wasn't for that meddling kid!
posted by rcade at 02:14 PM on July 05, 2003
Well, a large part of the reason you don't walk in someone's line is because you have a pretty decent chance of leaving a footprint or scuff, which could alter the roll of the putt. This is not beer golf, guys. This is for big money. I'd liken it to waving your hand in front of the face of a surgeon while he/she is making the incision. (/overly dramatic comparison) As for Ammaccapane, however ... has anyone considered the fact that she might just be a bitch?
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:35 PM on July 05, 2003
Anyone who walked on the green that day could've left a footprint or scuff. Ammaccapane appears to have gotten a bum deal here -- Wie's father now says he misinterpreted his daughter's explanation of an incident between her and Ammaccapane and there was no physical contact.
posted by rcade at 06:27 AM on July 06, 2003
Yes, but it wouldn't have been a fresh scuff or footprint, would it? A green will rebound over time, but might not in the 15 seconds after a six-footer plants her size 12s on it. And maybe Ammaccapane got a bum deal, but I take into consideration track records, and she's got a big mouth. You'll notice also that Wie's father didn't change his characterization of Ammaccapane from "nasty," and that Fay said her words to Wie were delivered in the tone of a drill sargeant. Funny she chose to do it to a 13-year-old. I hope if a touring pro her own age were to do something stupid, she might take the same approach and berate her, but since she blasted Sorenstam et al in the press instead of saying something to their faces, I'll bet she wouldn't.
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:49 PM on July 06, 2003
OK, as much as Ammaccapane may never win "Miss Congeniality", as much as I'd like Michelle to succeed and kick some ass, and as much as I think some of these golfing etiquette points are silly (also, see tennis), the mistakes Michelle and her father are alleged to have made are positively amateurish. Exhibits 1 and 2. I think it may be that Michelle needs to go to some golf etiquette school and maybe her dad should, too, or else get a new caddie. Crossing an opponent's putting line sounds like a reasonable no-no.
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:32 PM on July 07, 2003
Yes, but it wouldn't have been a fresh scuff or footprint, would it? A green will rebound over time, but might not in the 15 seconds after a six-footer plants her size 12s on it. Actually, Wie walked in the line of the putt, but on the other side of the hole. It's neither here nor there, since it was still against etiquette. Even if you think golfers are too sensitive, these practices are still firmly ingrained in the culture of golf, and it probably isn't the job of a 13 year old rookie to mess with it.
posted by avogadro at 12:40 PM on July 07, 2003
I'm playing both sides of this controversy, although avo has quashed some of it with that tidbit (thanks, a). I'm still saying the etiquette needs to be followed, whether in front of or behidnd theball, although behind is much less serious. I'll also stick to my assessment of Ammaccapane's personality. It wasn't just Wie saying she was rude and caustic, it was also an LPGA official. Someone talks to my 13-year-old like that, they get laid out.
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:37 PM on July 07, 2003
Ammacapane: 
Whoa, lady. Hathead. (And unfortunate putter position.)
posted by worldcup2002 at 04:58 PM on July 07, 2003
Looks to be quite the charmer, doesn't she? What is that, bitter beer face?
posted by wfrazerjr at 05:04 PM on July 07, 2003
The father claimed Ammaccapane bumped, pushed or brushed his daughter on the green. WTF is this bloke talking about? B.J. Wie suggested Ammaccapane and Hanson should have cut he and his daughter some slack. "They play golf for a living, they know the etiquette," he said. "We don't know, we are still learning." That is just such pure bs. If you don't know not to cross someone's putting line on the golf course then you shouldn't be there. Sounds to me that she got exactly what she deserved. Who cares if she's 13? If she wants to play with the big girls she should "learn" the bleeding etiquette sharpish and stop crying like a little baby.